‘Alice’ is definitely weird, but is it wonderful?

There are different degrees of weird. There’s the feeling when you experience vertigo, especially when you weren’t expecting it. There’s dream weird, which makes you wake up and think “where in my psyche did that come from?” There’s people weird, which is what you can see in public and think, “oh, my, god.”

There’s book weird, like the works of Lewis Carroll. And there’s film weird, like the works of Tim Burton. But when you add Carroll and Burton in the same mix, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter thrown in for good measure, then you really have something weird. And that pretty much describes the Burton interpretation of Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.”

After an introductory sequence where a young Alice (Miiri Ella Challen) recounts her recurring nightmare to her father (Martin Csokas), the scene shifts forward 13 years. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is being escorted to a party, where the son (Leo Bill) of a rich lord will be proposing to her. It’s an arranged marriage, and she doesn’t know if she wants to accept it, especially after the mother’s (Geraldine James) instructions to her about her son’s “conditions.”

She keeps seeing a rabbit in a waistcoat running through the hedges, and to the consternation of the party guests and her future betrothed, decides to chase after it. It leads her to a large hole at the base of a tree and she falls in. She has returned to Wonderland (more properly called “Underland” by its residents), and is greeted by the White Rabbit (voice of Michael Sheen), Mallymkun the Dormouse (Barbara Windsor) and Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), who argue over whether she is “the right Alice.” They take her to see Absolem the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), who declares she is “not hardly Alice.” Suddenly, the Bandersnatch and a group of Red Card soldiers led by the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) ambush the party; Alice escapes into the woods.

The Knave returns to the Red Queen’s (Carter) palace and informs her that Alice has arrived. Since Alice is the one foretold to beat the Jabberwocky (Christopher Lee), she sends her minions off to find her. Alice meets the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), who takes her to the Mad Tea Party with the Mad Hatter (Depp), the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse) and Mallymkun.

The Knave shows up, led there by the bloodhound Bayard (Timothy Spall), looking for Alice, but doesn’t find her because she’s been shrunken to fit into a teapot and hidden by the Hatter. The Hatter attempts to take Alice to see the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), but is forced to send Alice on ahead while he allows himself to be captured.

Confused yet? You might well be, as knowledge of the Lewis Carroll novels “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” in addition to the “Jabberwocky” poem goes a long way towards making sense of the plot. But this is a Tim Burton film, so there’s plenty of visual eye candy to distract you from the story if you can’t follow it spot on.

Extras:

The DVD has three featurettes:

• Finding Alice: Insights into Burton’s vision for the film, along with Wasikowska’s interpretations on the character. Most useful if you’re not familiar with the literary references to the book, although I do wish they would have expanded more on the “Jabberwock” poem.

• The Mad Hatter: Depp’s insights and research into his character, along with makeup and digital enhancements.

• Effecting Wonderland: Behind-the-scenes on making the film, which involves a lot of green-screen technology and “acting to tennis balls floating in the air.”

BD adds several more featurettes:

• The Futterwacken Dance: interview with dancer David Bernal, whose YouTube videos got him the scene.

• The Red Queen: The evolution of Bonham’s character, from sketches to her makeup and attitudes. Not much insight into how they managed to digitally keep her head outsized.

• The White Queen: Interview with Hathaway and her interpretation of the character.

• Scoring Wonderland: Interview with composer Danny Elfman, who has worked with Burton on several film scores.

• Stunts of Wonderland: Lots of shots of Wasikowska and Glover in their harnesses and green suits, being loaded into harnesses or walking on stilts.

• Making the Proper Size: The digital techniques used to shrink and grow Alice.

• Cakes of Wonderland: The “Cake Divas” of L.A. discuss the making of the “EAT ME” cakes, along with the dressing of the Mad Tea Party set.

• Tea Party Props: More discussion of the Mad Tea Party.

It would seem that the film is popular, as it has passed “The Dark Knight” to become the fifth-highest grossing film of all time, plus becoming one of only six films to pass the $1 billion mark in ticket sales. However, you do need to take into account the increase in ticket prices over the past few years, including the extra cost one pays to see a film in 3-D.

Watching the credits, I was surprised to see so many actors who also have an association with the “Harry Potter” franchise listed as having parts in the film. To wit:

• Alan Rickman: Professor Snape

• Helena Bonham Carter: Bellatrix Lestrange

• Timothy Spall: Peter “Wormtail” Pettigrew

• Imelda Staunton (the “Tall Flower Faces”): Dolores Umbridge

• Paul Whitehouse: Sir Cadogan

• Stephen Fry: the voice behind the British editions of the Potter audiobooks

A few reviews of the film state that the 3-D version was added to the project after the box office had shown (especially with the success of “Avatar“) that 3-D enhanced ticket sales. Since I don’t care to pay the extra prices to see a 3-D film, I can’t speak to whether the 3-D experience enhanced this one. But the visuals in this (mundane?) 2-D BD version are magnificent.

But magnificent visuals do not a complete story make. Otherwise, we would be hailing the “Star Wars” prequels with much more esteem (especially “Attack of the Clones”). So, does Burton’s interpretation qualify?

From the seat of this English major, I would have to say, “close, but not quite there.” That judgment is based on my feeling that a detailed knowledge of the source material (Carroll’s books and poems) will help the educated interpret the vision more accurately. That’s not to say that someone who hasn’t read the books won’t enjoy the film; but it’s almost too “insider” oriented.

Perhaps it’s not as much of a “head” film as the 1951 Disney cartoon, but the visuals definitely fall into the “weird” category. And if you’re not familiar with the source material other than the cartoon (which was weird in its own right), you might find yourself even more lost.

Young children will enjoy the visuals, although they might be a bit much, especially the Bandersnatch and the final battle scene with the Jabberwocky. And the vindictiveness of the Red Queen can also be troubling for younger minds, so I wouldn’t recommend popping it in the player in the playroom.

Bottom line: There are only two groups that I can wholeheartedly recommend this film to, sight unseen: English majors and those who enjoy mind-altering substances. For the rest, as with anything, it’s a judgment call. If you’re a fan of the books or of Burton, then by all means, pick it up. BD is tailor-made for this kind of film, so I would recommend that format. If you’re not sure, rent it first.